4 True or False

4 True or False? Go first? Where? I didn't even know where I was going, but I sure didn't want to go there first. Officer Spence took me to Room 104. That's Dr. Brad's room. He's our school counselor. He helps kids with their problems. But I don't have any problems, so I don't have to see him. Dr. Brad doesn't come to school every day, because he works at a bunch of different schools. So his room was empty.

"Sit down!" ordered Officer Spence. I sat on the only chair in the room. There were wires sticking out of it and leading to a scary-looking machine on the table. "Where's Mr. Klutz?" I asked. "What did you do with him?" "He's probably in the slammer by now,"

Officer Spence replied. Slammer? I never heard of a slammer. It sounded like some kind of a torture machine. "What's a slammer?" I asked. "He's in the pen," said Officer Spence. "How could Mr. Klutz fit inside a pen?" I asked. I didn't know what he was talking about. If Mr. Klutz was in a pen, it would have to be a really big pen. Where would the ink go? And how could anybody use a pen with a principal inside it? "Mr. Klutz is in stir," said Officer Spence. "He's in the Big House. The cooler. The joint. The clink. The pokey. The hoosegow. The calaboose." "Huh?" "He's in JAIL!" Officer Spence shouted. "Oh!" I said. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Never mind about Klutz," Officer Spence told me. "Ten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been stolen this month. There's a crime wave sweeping Ella Mentry School, and I'm going to put a stop to it once and for all." Officer Spence looked really mad. He turned on the desk lamp and pointed it at my face. Then he hooked up a bunch of those scary wires to my arms and my head. "What are you doing?" I asked. "This machine is a lie detector," Officer Spence told me. "If you tell a lie, it will make a beeping sound. So you'd better tell the truth if you know what's good for you. Okay, let's get started. What's your name?" "A.J." I looked at the lie detector to see if it would beep. It didn't. "Very good," said Officer Spence, "and

what does A.J. stand for?" "Arlo Jervis," I admitted. "That's right," Officer Spence said. "The lie detector didn't beep. So you must be telling the truth. Good boy. Do you like school, A.J.?" "No," I said. "That's true also," he said. "Tell me, Arlo Jervis, is there anything you like about school?" "No," I said. BEEP! "That's a lie!" Officer Spence said. "You like something. Or somebody."

"I do not," I said. BEEP! "Liar!" shouted Officer Spence. "I bet you like Andrea, that girl in your class with the curly brown hair, right?" "I do not!" I said. BEEP! "You're lying!" "I am not!" I shouted. "I hate Andrea!" BEEP!